Jolie filed for divorce on Sept. 19, citing irreconcilable differences. The former couple now have a temporary custody agreement which gives Jolie sole physical custody of the six children and grants Pitt visitation rights.

Also on HuffPost:

Close



Famous Parents Who Have Battled Over Child Custody

of





Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen’s custody battle was a messy one. Richards filed for divorce in 2005 while pregnant with their second child, Lola. She also filed a restraining order against her ex, who she claimed made death threats. In 2010, Richards was given full custody of their daughters, Sam and Lola, as Sheen struggled with substance abuse.
To complicate things more, in 2013, Richards was also granted temporary custody of Sheen’s twins, Bob and Max, who he had with third wife Brooke Mueller. The children were taken away from Mueller by Child Protective Services as she entered rehab. Mueller eventually recovered and regained legal custody of their sons.

Uma Thurman became engaged to Arpad Busson in 2008. The following year, they split for a brief time before getting back together and welcoming their daughter, Luna, in 2012.
In 2014, the couple called it quits and Busson filed a lawsuit against Thurman over the custody of their daughter. The following year, the two came to an agreement on how they would co-parent Luna. While details were not disclosed, Page Six reports that “everybody compromised a bit… I think it was all done to make one person happy and that one person is Luna.”
Besides Luna, Thurman also has two teens – Maya, 18, and Levon, 14 – with ex-husband Ethan Hawke.

Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger had one child together during their nine-year marriage, which ended in 2002. Initially, Basinger was given primary custody, but this changed in 2004 so that both she and her ex could have joint legal and physical custody of their daughter, Ireland.
Part of their custody agreement was that Baldwin would attend anger management and parenting classes. Basinger was also required to install a private phone line for their daughter and give Baldwin weekly updates on Ireland.
In 2007, a voicemail of Baldwin calling his daughter a “rude, thoughtless little pig,” was leaked and the actor was banned from seeing her.
Baldwin is now on good terms with both his daughter and ex-wife.

Halle Berry and ex, Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, share custody of their eight-year-old daughter Nahla. But despite this, the former couple has had ongoing disputes over their arrangement, including issues regarding child support and residency.
Most recently, the former couple had a spat over Nahla’s hair. In 2014, Berry took Aubry to court, claiming he was “straightening and lightening” their daughter’s hair to make her look more Caucasian.

In her divorce settlement with Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes gained primary legal custody of their daughter, Suri. According to Mirror UK, Holmes was ready to do “whatever it takes” to gain custody of their child.
Since then, there have been countless reports that Cruise has not seen his daughter in years. There have also been rumours that Holmes did not want to “lose” their daughter to Scientology, which is Cruise’s faith.
Despite this, the former couple previously released a statement, saying: “We are committed to working together as parents to accomplish what is in our daughter Suri's best interests.”

Following their divorce in 2007, Britney Spears and ex Kevin Federline shared joint custody of their sons, Sean and Jayden. However, after the pop star had her infamous meltdown later that year, where she shaved her head and was admitted to rehab for drugs, Spears lost physical custody of her kids. Her visitation rights were also suspended.
Since then, Spears has regained primary custody of their two sons.

Last year, Kelly Rutherford lost custody of her two kids – Helena, 7, and Hermes, 9 – after a six year battle with ex-husband Daniel Giersch. In 2012, two years after the couple divorced, a California judge gave Rutherford and Giersch joint custody, but ordered the kids to live with Giersch in France. Since then, the former “Gossip Girl” star has fought to get her children back in the U.S.
Rutherford lost that battle and Giersch was granted sole custody last year. This was a direct result of Rutherford violating a court order. The actress was asked to fly the kids back to Monaco (where Giersch now lives) at the end of summer 2015, but she refused to do so.

Following Paul Walker’s tragic death in 2013, a custody battle over his teen daughter, Meadow, ensued. In his will, the “Fast and Furious” star stated that his mother, Cheryl Walker, should become the teen’s legal guardian. As a result, Cheryl and Meadow’s mother, Rebecca Soteros, fought for custody of the then-15-year-old girl.
Meadow lived with Walker in California for three years before his death. The teen’s mom, Soteros, had reportedly been known for her drinking problems and was caught drunk driving in 2003 and 2013.
Cheryl and Soteros came to a custody agreement in 2014. TMZ reported that Cheryl would let Soteros have custody of Meadow if Soteros went to rehab. Both parties agreed.

The “Game of Thrones” star is currently in a battle with her ex-husband Peter Loughran after he claimed she violated their custody agreement by moving their six-year-old son to the U.K.
Headey’s attorney, Joy Dracup Stanley, responded to these claims, telling E! News: “The parties have a clear and written agreement that both parents and the child will move to the U.K. this summer, and they will continue to have joint legal custody.”
Read more here.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie had a dispute in December 2015 over their eldest son, Rocco. At that time, the 16-year-old was living with his father in London, England and refused to return to New York to be with his mother.
Last month, the dispute was settled in court, with both parents agreeing that Rocco would remain in London with Ritchie. No other details of the settlement were revealed.
Besides Rocco, Madonna and Ritchie are also parents to an adopted son named David, who is 11.